1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the construction of furniture, and in particular, it relates to the securing of an edging to the rim of a table.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of edging for furniture pieces is quite commonplace, especially if the top of the furniture piece is made from a composite material or a layered laminate panel material. The edging serves several purposes. First, the edging hides the sides of the panel material providing an esthetically pleasing edge to the panel and the furniture piece. Second, the edging protects the sides of the panel from getting marred or chipped through normal use. Third, the edging serves as a device to hold the panel together so that the panel does not separate due to humidity and moisture or age. Fourth, the edging can also serve to secure the panel to a rim structure of the furniture piece.
Prior to the present invention, most furniture edging was made of a rigid material. There are several patents that show a metal strip, such as aluminum, used to edge the top panel of furniture pieces.
The Bonnell U.S. Pat. No. 2,549,414, the Torrence U.S. Pat. No. 2,705,820, the Pasewalk U.S. Pat. No. 2,846,283, The Braal et al U.S. Pat. No. 2,851,323, and the Irwin et al U.S. Pat. No. 2,957,737 show various configurations of metal edgings for table tops and desks. The Irwing et al and the Braal et al patents illustrate desks having metal edges that are secured to the sides of the desk by bending one or more flanges, crimping the edging to an edge portion of a top desk panel. The Torrence and the Bonnell patents show edging that is held to the sides of the table top panel by forcing an arrow-shaped flange of the edging into a slot in the table top panel. The Pasewalk Patent illustrates an edge trim for a desk that holds a linoleum top to the top of the desk while hiding from view the sides of the linoleum and the rim of the desk.
The Fisher U.S. Pat. No. 1,967,666 discloses a round rim of metal which is welded together to form a loop that is used as an edging for a round table panel. The round metal rim is held in place by bending an appropriate lower flange against the bottom of a table rim.
The Raggio U.S. Pat. No. 2,297,072 shows an edge which may be formed of a composition material, rubber, cork, Bakelight, pyralin, or a thermoplastic material. The edge is held in place by a metal strip which is tightened around the edging with the metal strip being welded or crimped together.
All of the above-mentioned patents show edgings which are either crimped around a panel or are fastened to the panel by suitable mechanical fasteners. Such edgings must be bent or formed to the contour of the panel member since they will not freely conform to it. Such bending requires either extra tooling or effort or both. In addition, if a translucent panel is used, such as glass or plastic, the use of mechanical fasteners or the crimping of flanges to secure the edging to the table rim and translucent panel will show through the translucent panel.
The Feldman U.S. Pat. No. 2,636,189 shows a teething rail made of a plastic molding that is secured to a rail, apparently made from wood. The molding includes two outer arms and an intermediate arm all extending from a back portion. The two outer arms engage the sides of the wood and the intermediate arm extends into a slot in the wood. Although the edging of the Feldman Patent is quite suitable for a teething rail, the edging would not be satisfactory when placed horizontally in a furniture piece, especially a furniture piece having a translucent panel member whose sides not only need to be protected, but which need to be secured to the remaining structure of the table.